Just Friends

Hermione sat on into her usual potions seat sighing. How had it come to this, she thought, she was now so embarrassed in class that she messed everything up and dropped all of Professor Snape’s equipment. The amount of beakers she had broken in the last month had to be more than double the amount she had broken over the whole seven years she had been studying at Hogwarts.

She thoroughly blamed Neville, he was her partner in potions and ever since she had drunkenly, and mistakenly, kissed him at the last Christmas Ball, after a mishap with Fred and George spiking the punch when they had returned to Hogwarts to meet with Professor Dumbledore, she had not been able to concentrate in the least around him. What made matters worse was everyone knew why, everybody knew that she had kissed Neville Longbottom and worst of all so did Professor Snape.

“Miss Granger, would you kindly desist you’re daydreaming over Longbottom,” smirked Professor Snape, who obviously knew full well that she did not fancy Neville in the slightest, “Miss Granger this is the third time this week I have caught you drooling into your cauldron I think perhaps a little detention would put your mind back on task, be here prompt after dinner wearing something suitable to clean in.”
He stressed the last to words with an evil sneer on his face. “Right, class dismissed,” he barked and the class shot out of their seats and exited the potions lab as fast as they could.

Hermione packed away her work with a bright pink face never before had she been so embarrassed just as she was about walk out of the door she felt a hand spinning her round. She turned to find Snape stood directly behind her so close that she could feel his eyes bore through her and feel the warmth of his breath over her face, scared the room started to spin slightly as he whispered to her.

“And Miss Granger I will know if you do not come here straight after dinner.” And at this point she would be willing to bet he would.

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After eating dinner Hermione returned to her dorm in order to get changed. Having being appointed Head Girl she now had her own room complete with a bed, a wardrobe, a desk, a fireplace but best of all her own personal bookcase. She made good use of everything in room but especially her bookcase; it was near to overflowing. It was perfect for her to have somewhere in order to do her work without the boys distracting her or first years asking her pointless questions, she did enjoy helping them and would do anything to assist a student in need but sometimes it just all got too much, and sometimes it was good just to be able to sit back and relax while she lost herself in another world while reading book.

Picking out some clothes she did not mind getting covered in muck which knowing Snape would some horrible substance that would mean she would not ever want to wear them again but still kept her warm as it was always cold in the dungeons and she would not put it past Snape to keep her their until late that night. She grabbed her bag and hurriedly speed off to the dungeons.

She ran down the stairs hoping she wouldn’t be late and knocked on the door.

“Enter,” barked Professor Snape in his usual cutting tone as she made her way through the door, “Put your bag on my desk and your wand you won’t be needing it today and actually take off that jacket as well it will just get in the way,” continued Snape as Hermione struggled to take off her jacket, “Come on be quick about it, finally as challenging as that seems to have been for you Granger I’m sure I have something much worse. Follow me.”

She watched as Professor glided over to his store cupboard and disappeared into it, she quickly followed not wanting to infuriate him further.

“Right, tonight Miss Granger because your apparent lack of it you are going to do something which will require high concentration, I want you to take a count of all the supplies I have left and to reorganise them. Begin,” announced Professor Snape.

She bit back a retort as he stalked back out to sit at his desk to mark his papers. The bastard knew that it was because of Neville she was not concentrating, she also swore it was for his pure amusement at watching her squirm that he left her there. Yet he still had the nerve to give her detention for it, then just to make things worse he gave her a detention that would probably force her to be here until midnight. After a good five minutes of sulking she thought she had better get on with things.

Six hours later and she was still there and she was been driven to distraction by Snape not only was she sure he was laughing at her but he was tapping his quill continually on his desk. She had, however, taken all but one of the stocks.

Standing on the tips of her toes she reached upwards as high as she could but to no avail, scanning around the tiny store cupboard she spotted a set of step ladders. After putting them up she climbed to the top of them, they were quite unstable on the dungeon floor but she was so tired, it was after all it was two in the morning, she could not care less. She leant forwards straining to reach the last container at the back of the top shelf, the ladders wobbled precariously on the uneven floor but she was determined to reach it.

Suddenly, the ladders gave way underneath her and she plunged towards the floor, grimacing knowing the hard floor that awaited her. She waited for the sickening crack of her head hitting the floor but it never came and she was surprised to find a strong warm arm wrapped around her stomach and another gripping her hand. Feeling herself being gently lowered so her feet could touch the floor then gasping as she realised that it was Professor Snape who had caught her.

She twirled around to find him looking quite amused but also quite shocked; she thought he looked like he could not believe what he had just done almost as much as she had. He blushed then quickly turned away and headed back to go out the store cupboard. Pushing down on the handle of the door, which had been slammed shut when had come to catch her, he found that it wouldn’t open. Scowling he pushed harder, then he proceeded to throwing his shoulder at the door in an effort to open it.

“Miss Granger, I think we may have a problem,” Professor Snape said bitterly.

“Please tell me you are joking,” Hermione shrieked.

“Oh yea because I frequently make jokes about being stuck in cupboard with an annoying little brat!” retorted Snape.

Running towards the door in near hysterics Hermione shouted, “Why the bloody hell did you slam the door.”

“Well I am sorry Miss Granger but I was rather preoccupied with the fact that you’re to stupid to even use a ladder.”

“Five seconds, surely you can use magic to blast the door open,” exclaimed Hermione.

“Well, yes, I could have had I not left me wand on my desk.”

“Why the bloody hell did you leave it there?”

“Well as you were falling off that bloody ladder and you risked breaking some of my supplies I sort of came in a rush.”

“So you are telling me that I am stuck in this cupboard with you until someone comes to let us out. This is so ridiculous, it’s all you fault if you had not given me this detention in the first place.”

“I would not of, had you not been so busy drooling over Neville,” Snape said with evil glint in his eye.

“You know fine well that I DO NOT FANCY NEVILLE, YOU KNOW I WAS DRUNK!” said Hermione as she slid her back down the firmly jammed door.

Silence fell over the room after Hermione’s outburst…

3 hours later it was cold and dark and Hermione’s bum had gone thoroughly numb. Looking next to her she saw Professor Snape sat, perfectly still but as wide-awake as she was. He seemed to be staring out into the darkness of the small room and to be lost in thought. It had been hours since either of them had talked. Staring down she realised that he was wearing his cloak still; she would give anything to have hers because she was so bloody cold. Without noticing it she had began to shiver violent as if her body had suddenly processed the fact that it was only about four degrees in there.

Snape, however had noticed, to be honest he did not even think the girl was awake anymore he had not bothered to check, he had been so surprised at her sudden outburst he had not thought she would have the gall. In fact she has to be the first student to ever shout back at him, he would never of expected it off a girl and least of all of her. She was, even though it pained him to admit it especially since she was Gryffindor, his favourite student. She was competent in his subject; she was almost as enthusiastic about it as he was and she was always polite to him nice even, which was much more than he got from most people even those in the order.

He had expected things to change after the defeat of Voldemort. They had not however even though he had been revealed to the wizarding world as a hero and a spy for the order even though he had taken hundreds of rounds of cruico to help defeat the dark lord even though in the final battle he had been beaten nearly to death by Lucius. He had been saved at the least minute and revived by someone; to this day he still didn’t know whom.

That was part of the reason he was so annoyed with Hermione though. She had brilliant talents that are going to waste all because she was so regretful of a drunken action. He did not really know why he had blushed when he had caught Hermione from falling off the ladder, perhaps it was the fact it was the only woman he had touched in about five years, even though he knew he was only doing his job.

Suddenly, Hermione’s shivering brought him to the real world. Crap what should he do he cannot leave her to freeze, surely Dumbledore would tell him off for that. But he really did not want the girl to know he cared for her, he had all ready caught her from what would have been a painful accident. No he would just let her be cold, she would be fine, but then next to him he felt Hermione shiver violently and he felt incredible guilty. He was actually quite warm; he had spent one to many nights sleeping rough outside when he was working for Voldemort to be particularly bothered by the cold, also the fact that he spent most of his time in the dungeons. He was now numbed to the cold if you excuse the pun.

Looking to the left he noticed that she actually looked a little blue around the lips, that was enough to force him to give over to his kind hearted side, evidently a side no one ever saw but it still existed.
“Miss Granger, I think perhaps you should take my cloak,”

“No-oo s-ssi-r I’m fff-ine,” Hermione stuttered back.

“You are obviously freezing, your slightly blue, now do not make me have to take points of Gryffindor before you will take it,” said Snape as he removed the cloak and thrust it into Hermione’s arms.

Hermione looked down at the cloak in her arms and marvelled at how soft and warm it was. Throwing it over her legs and around her shoulders she felt overcome with a wave of warmth accompanied by a male smell, almost like musk and spices, it smelt nice. She pulled the cloak up to her nose and breathed in deeply, it relaxed her a lot and she rested more comfortably against the door. Then suddenly she realised that this was Professor Snape’s cloak and that the smell she liked so much was his smell, blushing violently she dropped the cloak back down to her shoulders.

“So, Miss Granger do you fancy telling me what happened between you and Neville, think of it as an exchange for the coat.”

Thanks for reading please R+R. S x